Internationally renowned concert organist Dr. Isabelle Demers will perform a rededication concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, at Duluth’s First United Methodist Church (aka “The Coppertop”). The concert celebrates the completion of the church’s recent renovation and expansion of its Austin pipe organ.
Admission to the concert is free, with a freewill offering to be taken. The church’s pipe organ was installed in 1968, two years after the Coppertop church was built on Skyline Parkway. Funds for the organ were given as a memorial to Chester and Clara Congdon by their children and grandchildren. The Congdons were active members of the First Methodist Church.
After 50+ years of regular use, the organ was becoming increasingly unreliable because of failing leather parts and electrical problems. The resulting unpleasant noises emitting from its depths at random moments during worship services made it clear that something had to be done.
After significant donations from church members, work began on repairing the organ, as well as improving it. The renovated and expanded organ includes over 3,300 pipes. The sounds produced by many existing pipes were modified and new pipes were purchased, including a set of 69 new pipes attached to the back balcony wall. Some say the striking design of these pipes resembles the waves on Lake Superior. The organ also benefits from new technology, with the ability to record and play back music, and to transpose hymns written in higher keys to an easier register for most church singers.
To celebrate the organ’s renovation, the church is hosting Dr. Isabelle Demers in concert, playing works by J.S. Bach, César Franck, Bedřich Semtana and more. Isabelle Demers’ playing is described as having “bracing virtuosity” (Chicago Classical Review) and being “fearless and extraordinary” (Amarillo Globe News). She has enraptured critics, presenters, and audience members around the globe. Her latest CD, recorded at Chicago’s Rockefeller Chapel, was released in January 2020.